1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tops of containers, more particularly to server tops which have a pivoting push lever for opening and closing an outlet through which fluid may be poured.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Server tops which have push levers for moving a sliding closure to open and close an outlet in the lid portion of the server top are commonly used on containers for syrups and other food condiments. These server tops generally include a lip portion with outlet, a sliding closure which slides over the lid portion to open and close the outlet, a handle portion with two parallel side faces which extend outwardly from the lid portion and a platform which together form a cavity, and a push lever which is mounted pivotably into the cavity and is connected to the sliding closure to selectively move the closure over the lid portion. The push lever is generally press-formed from a metal sheet, and includes a push arm which is pushed for pivoting the push lever away from the outlet, and two sides which extend downwardly from the push arm, each side being inwardly adjacent to one of the handle portion side faces. Each push lever side and each handle portion side face has a hole therethrough so that when all four holes are aligned, a pivot pin may be inserted therethrough to pivotally mount the push lever within the cavity. A coil spring is generally mounted on the pivot pin between the push arm sides to bias the push arm toward the outlet so that the connected closure closes the outlet unless the push arm is pressed by the user. One end of the pivot pin generally has a head which helps to maintain the pin within the holes. After insertion, the other end of the pin usually is pressed or beaten to expand so that the pin is permanently retained within the holes.